*No-One or *Noone or No One | Meaning, Definition & Spelling
No one is an indefinite pronoun meaning ‘nobody’. No-one, with a hyphen, is also considered acceptable in UK English (though it’s less common than ‘no one’).
‘Noone’, written without spaces, is incorrect and should be avoided.
- Noone asked for your advice.
- No-one asked for your advice.
- No one asked for your advice.
How to use no one in a sentence
No one is an indefinite pronoun meaning the same as ‘nobody’. Because it’s treated as a singular noun, it’s always followed by a singular verb form.
- Besides Dave, no one are interested.
- Besides Dave, no one is interested.
- No one know the answer.
- No one knows the answer.
No one is also grammatically negative, so using it in a negative statement (i.e., a construction that includes the adverb ‘not’) creates a double negative that confuses your meaning.
- No one doesn’t want dessert. [technically means “Everyone wants dessert”]
- No one wants dessert.
Other interesting language articles
If you want to know more about commonly confused words, definitions, and differences between US and UK spellings, make sure to check out some of our other language articles with explanations, examples, and quizzes.
Definitions
US vs. UK spellings
Frequently asked questions
- Is ‘no one’ one word or two?
-
No one (two words) is an indefinite pronoun meaning ‘nobody’. People sometimes mistakenly write ‘noone’, but this is incorrect and should be avoided. ‘No-one’, with a hyphen, is also acceptable in UK English.
- What’s the difference between ‘nobody’ and ‘no one’?
-
Nobody and no one are both indefinite pronouns meaning ‘no person’. They can be used interchangeably (e.g., ‘nobody is home’ means the same as ‘no one is home’).
Cite this Scribbr article
If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the ‘Cite this Scribbr article’ button to automatically add the citation to our free Reference Generator.
Ryan, E. (2023, October 04). *No-One or *Noone or No One | Meaning, Definition & Spelling. Scribbr. Retrieved 22 April 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/common-errors/noone-vs-no-one/
